Art of manufacturing ammonia



(No Model.) Y 2 sheets-sheet 1.

H. A'. FRASGH. ART 0F MANUFAGTURING'AMMONIA.

N0. 515,909. V Patented Mar. 6, 1894.

' fr l G66 Ligue Triest 5- ana Aasl Unirse Srn'rns Far-ENT Ottica.

HANS A. FRASCH, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.V

ART OF MANUFACTURING AMMONIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 515,909, dated March 6, 1894.

Application filed April 15,1893.

.To a/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HANS A. FRASCH, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in the Art of Manufacturing Ammomia; a'ndl do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

In the distillation of ammonia from gas liquor, and more especially in the manufacture of sodium carbonate by the ammonia process, certain volatile pyridn bases and other organic products contained in the liquor, distill and condense with the ammonia, and thereby'discolor and otherwise deteriorate the ammonia products. Designating these deleterious substances as impurities, I may say that I have found that they volatilize at as low a temperature as 10()o Fahrenheit. In the ordinary ammonia apparatus Where the gas-liquor is fed into a steam-heated stilltower or analyzer at the upper end and the ammonia vapor escapes from such analyzer past the incoming gas-liquor, the temperature of no part of such analyzeris at any time suf-` iiciently low to permit of the gas-liquor taking up any considerable portion of the impurties in the vapor; moreover, gas-liquor seldom contains as much as three per cent. of absolute ammonia, Whilea cold saturated solution contains as much as twenty-nine and a half per cent. It will th us be seen that unless provision be made for reducing the temperature of the vapors as they pass from the still below the temperature of the still itself before it is attempted to remove the aforesaid impurities, the product of aqua-ammoniawill still be discolored and otherwise deteriorated. A large inliow of Weak gas-liqnoigcontaining not over three per ceht. of ammonia is constantly fed to the analyzer, and the amount of ammonia produced in the analyzer is utterly insufficient to make a cold saturated solution in or of so large a quantity of gas-liquor even should the temperature be keptat 100 Fahrenheit, or lower as my process requires. In all apparatus to me known a condenser is used to condense the steam carried over with the ammoniacal vapor in order to Serial No. Ilmfll'i. (No model.)

produce aqua-ammoniaof properstrength and hence it is evident that it is not contemplated as possible to secure in the analyzer sufficiently dehydrated vapors.

The object of my invention is to overcome this difficulty and to produce a practically pure ammonia. i

In practicing my invention, l utilize the fact that ammonia and non-volatile liquids which absorb ammonia to saturation, While refusing to take up a further quantity of ammonia, Will, however, absorb or combine the pyridin and other impurities referred to, and thus act as a washer for the further supply of ammonia gas.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating myinvention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure l is asectional elevation of the apparatus; Fig. 2 a cross section, on a larger scale, of several of the connected sections comprising the still and Wash columns; and Figs. 3 and Il similar views of modifications, and Fig. 5 is a similar view of the absorber sections.

A is the still column, mounted on a steam drum B and havingthe gas-liquor induct pipe C.

D is a coil of pipe contained in a cooling tank F. and connected with the still column by pipe F.

G is a return pipe from the cooling coil to the still column.

H is the Wash column or tower into which the cooling coil opens through pipe I, this Wash column also having a return pipe J to the still column.

K is the absorber, connected with the wash column by the pipe L, and having an outlet M for the aqua ammonia and an outlet N for waste gases, and an inlet O for the water or other absorbent.

Steam is supplied to the drum B through l pipe P and an overflow or equalizing pipe Q leads from this drum to a Well R to prevent the blowing out of the apparatus.

Certain peculiarities in the construction of the preferred form of still toweror column and Wash tower or column and the absorber Will now be described; and inasmuch as the still tower and the Wash tower, as herein shown, are of the same construction, the description of one will suflice for both. The tower is com- IOO pesedot a series of seeticnsafhavinghorianne!, p .Y tallyfprojeetingiianges'attopandbettein,epeeKV fr at the tcp, :and havingay horizontal bottom in@ freinet erahontthe centerof which'isadown` ,rwardly,projeetingannularflange osfffrA/:nznina ber of; these sections are: belted together by; Y ,their adjacentV dangesand between each'seee r,Ytienandhelevarits {tang-eY isarrangedza dish Y i Y, ,Y Y cr'vessel tot substantially the'eressrseetien Y.bottoni etgthe next 'leweriseeticnby 'latechsVer.` Y f feet, Vor other supports ver atanf appropriate height Vfrom 'the limitem ef the image... Y Eaeh4 dishzerr vessie-lid is suppliedfwtth anoverttew' pipef Whinhproieets tip/"into thespae'e: eithe ;k `ffiangne;ef thefupperseetien and dotanzintnthe: ressel'belew thefnextlewersectien. gltsisteadYy u ef'having the dishes 4or'vessels separa-retreat 1y Y :the sections 'and'. supported: apen hlocksyas" nf,described, eaehsectieni 1may'fhaafei ts fapp'ro. priate dischiH erefessel ,castteiits bottom, as i j shewnin,higi3,,er-,the sangleV dish er i'lessel4 shevvmwheh -may he-:supported 'upon the,

may be east tethefilangeraslshe Wnr in Y y and n 'ei ther case spellings Wiliefbe Vmathe tei i n permit the .passage of; the:tapersY past :the f saidvesseiandthe tiangeThevesseistare supplied with theLliquid'wh-iehis beingtreateth' f and ,thisy ,.l'iquid `rstands iin athefsaifd vesselsKY normally to ia level'zjnstbelowthe iev'eifcf the overiiow,pipesjf7 seth'atthe flan ges 'eff' ;n they sections areliqnidsealed in; said vessels, f Y, f fandfseelsogare the;bottomsgettheevertlew y, lpipesy. k,The abscrberislilewise ceiniposed f Y etasereset-seetiensmade.with reprend Y'bottomangesgxwherelayfmey i may VbeV belted together` to form KYa'column of Vproper height.` f

The tops of these sections gare open and the bottoms h are made with flanged outlets i in such manner that the outlet of each section projects into thebodyof the next lower section, and I prefer to arrange these outlets so that the outlets of adjacent sections shall be out of line with one another. The absorber is supplied with Water to the desired height in a practically solid column, and as the vapor enters it, the vapor collects between the surface of the water and the bottom of the next higher section until the water is displaced sufficiently for the vapor to pass beneath the outlet and so escape into the section next above and thus the vapor is thoroughly Washed. The pipe M is, by preference, attached to the lowest section of the series of sections and is made with an upward bend to the height it is desired to have the absorbing liquid stand in the ab` sorber, and thence descends to the outlet.

The operation is substantially as follows:

Th-'eiiquorltoffbe dit-stilisti entersffthe' YYctalumn Aatthectep,.Whiiefsteam'is admitted from f the drinn; l The vapnrsfeemingth reughthisH p ceiumnypassthreugh'fti-ie-eenling devicafthe Water.:foteendensatien Hows bankintotheKV schuilnaam@theammeniafgasleaves them: f eendensezrandpasses intoithe Washer. ,f This f y 557V asfhtn'einabevez` referred 'tm/Which', whiley itl "f takes upf-the V'insigniritiesggiperinits the gas kte f f f kpass thence totheialbsorber, and from the'ab- *sorbets the gas'ipasses onto! the `satu ratori Y @The let'ilhA andthe towerlfl', Vin the' forin'fshottnferin modifications Vtlereef;inet?y e used: finti-ie 'distiilatio'ntof lalcohol, fpetro-, leem, glycern'egfand ter; ethery #pu rposeaand; i i r' While-Ihaveshewnand deseribedltheinfirn Y: f eenneetisn'with'lanframmenta' stili, ywish te @be understendaslineiudiizig Within y the scope?y et inyiinsention'theirnse'ffor Whatever pur p iposesftnhiwhiclr they;maybeappiied:A f if j f Whifiei 'prefer'fteeinpioythe apparatus and 1 several parts herein sho Wala ed described ir for theffpraet-iceofnyrprocessgyetffdenot' u Vwish te bennderstoodasliniiting my'preeess' ,i te the employerentoffsnehi-apparatus in WholeV y ferrinpart. :filer-example',thesatnratedsoin; f

tien ota'mmenia krmayfbelusedinfaay kind Jetfwash erfis supplied with a saturated V`soluthm receptacles@ Y n if Ifcia'itin isf@V Y fl. The imprevement 'in theiart 4Vet."produc;*f 'fi-ngganimonia bydistiliaten Whiehconsistsin 1 d istilling th'eainmeniacal' iiquonthen eoeiing the vaperseenitng'e'fremthestili-andtsepa i f ratingenttheeondensed matt-eri then i pass;s .y ing the cooi'ed and'dehydra'ted 'ammoniacal/ vapors through a saturated solution of ammonia which is maintained at a temperature which adapts it to take up the pyridin and kindred impurities, and then absorbing the vapors, substantially as described.

2. An apparatus for distilling ammonia, consisting in a still column, a cooling device for separating the ainmoniacal vapors and condensing the aqueous matter, a column containing a saturated solution of ammonia through which the ammonia vapors pass directly from the cooling device, and an absorber, all combined and arranged in the order stated, and adapted to operate, substantiall y as described.

Witness my hand to the foregoing specifi- 

